The number of deaths touched the figure of 174 in the Indonesian football match on Saturday, East Java’s Vice. Gov. Emil Dardak revealed the figure while talking to an interview with Kompas TV on Sunday.
How deadly was it?
In the soccer match of Persebaya Surabaya versus Arema Malang, a clash occurred at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, East Java province, Indonesia.
The Indonesian Premier League match ended with the score of 3-2 in which Persebaya Surabaya got victory over Arema Malang. The fans of Arema didn’t accept the defeat and started throwing bottles and other objects at the officials and players.The protestors asked the management to explain the reason for the defeat.
They also damaged the five police vehicles. To overcome the chaos, the local police had to fire tear gas which led to several deaths and injuries, although FIFA does not allow the use of tear gas in the football stadiums. The Chief of East Java Police Nico Afinta said that over 300 people were taken to hospitals immediately but many of them were subjected to death on the way. He also said that over 100 people are currently under treatment in the eight hospitals. Out of which, 11 people are in critical condition.
The local police chief of Malang, Ferli Hidayat said that there were a crowd of 42,000 spectators in the ground who were all Aremanias. The supporters of Perse Baya were not allowed by the organizers to avoid any kind of clash as their rivalry is known to everyone.
The police chief said in a news conference on Sunday,
“We have already done a preventive action before finally firing the tear gas as fans
began to attack the police, acting anarchically and burning vehicles.”
The president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo conveyed his condolences for the dead people on Sunday
“I deeply regret this tragedy and I hope this is the last soccer tragedy in this country. Don’t let another human tragedy like this happen in the future. We must continue to maintain sportsmanship, humanity and a sense of brotherhood of the Indonesian nation.”
The Youth and Sports Minister, Zainuddin Amali also commented on the tragic event.
“This tragedy happened when we were preparing for soccer game activities, both national and international level.”
He also added,
“Unfortunately this incident has certainly injured our soccer image”
The president also ordered the concerned authorities to go through the security analysis of the soccer match. Until then, Premier Soccer League Liga 1 will remain suspended.
Indonesia’s soccer association, PSSI imposed a ban on Arema that it can not host any further premier league matches for the season.
Malang’s Saiful Anwar General Hospital is crowded with the relatives of the injured, who are in the hope of the recovery of their loved ones. And those who have lost their dear ones, are trying to identify the dead bodies.
Let’s hope that we will not see such deadly clashes in the future to keep the soccer world shining and flourishing.